Gun Review: Sauer 100 Pantera in 6.5 Creedmoor

My three favorite Panteras include the De Tomaso, the Texas metal band, and the Sauer 100 Pantera seen here. Okay, not the band. I prefer my metal nicely fluted, threaded 5/8×24, rocking a Picatinny rail for an optic, and installed in a sweet stock with dual front sling studs. So equipped, the Sauer 100 Pantera, available in seven calibers, looks even cooler than 80’s glam metal hair and is far more affordable than a glam metal Italian sports car.

I liked this rifle a lot, so let’s get the negative stuff out of the way first. Well, just one unfortunate incident:

The bolt handle on my loaner rifle was loose from the factory. Naturally, I didn’t notice this until I was out on the range warming the gun up for the first time, sighting it in, and shooting some accuracy groups. Man, is shooting groups annoying with a bolt handle that spins freely.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Thankfully, the Sauer 100’s bolt handle is bolted in rather than pinned or welded, so it wasn’t broken; just loose. At home I disassembled the rifle’s bolt, removed the bolt handle’s bolt, cleaned it, added a drop of blue Loctite, and snugged it back down. Zero issues after that. Obviously it should have been tight from the factory, but this wasn’t the end of the world.

TTAG’s two other Sauer review rifles (JWT has already reviewed the Cherokee here) had no such issue.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

When it isn’t loose, the bolt gets no complaints. It’s adorned with a large, smooth knob (Sauer calls it a “tactical cone” shape) that provides plenty of purchase with no bite. Only 60 degrees of lift is required to unlock the action, which is fast and feels pretty darn good.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

A left-side button on the action allows the bolt to be removed easily.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Dual ejectors and a small-ish extractor adorn the face of the Pantera’s tri-lug bolt.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

The right-side, three-position safety lever will be familiar to many shooters. It offers fire (forward, as seen above), safe with ability to manipulate the bolt (middle), and safe with the bolt locked (rear). The safety snicks precisely into each position, aided by the sharply-knurled knob.

A red line on the protruding striker indicates “cocked” status.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Pretty slick, eh? The Sauer 100 Pantera is a good looking gun in a cool and unique, laminate wood stock.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Simply loosen the two thumb screws to raise or lower the cheek rest, then snug them back down to hold it solidly where you want it. This is almost as high as it goes.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

And this is all the way down, of course.

The big triangle-shaped notch in the bottom of the shoulder stock is a handy place for, well, a hand. Hook that support hand into it to stabilize the rifle while shooting off a bag or bipod. Or, it’s a great place to stuff a rear bag and slide it forwards or rearwards to help raise, lower, and/or snuggle the rifle in.

A really great feature, the recoil pad can be adjusted sideways as well as up and down for a custom fit. Spacers can adjust length of pull. I came to like this curved pad, as it forces a certain level of consistency in placement that a flat pad doesn’t. You’re almost guaranteed to find a natural shooting position with the S100 Pantera.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Nearly vertical, the pistol style grip offers a nice palm swell and is very comfortable. As long as you’re correct-handed. With this particular stock, lefties need not apply.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Decorative cuts in the forend provide cool looks and barrel cooling airflow. I mean, at least a little bit, right?

Jeremy S. for TTAG

The 20″ cold hammer forged Sauer barrel is fully free-floated. There’s plenty of clearance all the way around it from the end of the chamber straight to the end of the stock.

Though black-painted wood doesn’t usually scream “quality” to me, the Pantera’s laminate stock is plenty stiff and the slightly pebbled texture feels nice. Flexing the forend enough to make it contact the barrel had to be done deliberately and firmly — there’s no way loading up a bipod or pressing down onto a rest or pulling in a sling will make that happen here.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

At the very front bottom of the forend are two sling swivel studs, allowing the use of a bipod and a sling simultaneously. In 2018, I’d rather a short M-LOK or Picatinny rail section for a bipod and a QD socket(s) for a sling, but dual studs’ll do. Better than a single stud. Though if this were my rifle I’d likely add a thread-in QD socket to the side of the forend centered underneath the front two speed slots.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Jeremy S. for TTAG

At the muzzle of this German-made rifle are U.S.-standard 5/8×24 threads. Whether running a suppressor as the gun gods intended or a muzzle brake or the included thread protector, the threads are clean and precise and the shoulder sufficient. A short, non-threaded section helps align a muzzle device before attempting to engage the threads.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

As simple as a thread protector may seem, Sauer’s is one of the best I’ve encountered thanks to a great design feature. It’s only has about a quarter inch of threads at the extreme muzzle end, so it slides most of the way down the barrel threads and then needs only a few turns to tighten fully.

I realize this is about the silliest thing to praise, but three-ish rotations versus 20-ish feels like a big difference when you want to get shooting or want to get packing up and you’re stuck standing there twist-twist-twist-twist-twist-twisting forever.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Loading up the 5-round, polymer magazine, I set the Sauer 100 Pantera on a rest.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

It shipped bore-sighted with a very-nice-indeed Minox ZP5 5-25×56 scope in a [too-tall] Warne mount clamped to the Picatinny-equipped action, so we were ready to go right out of the box.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Jeremy S. for TTAG

With Winchester’s excellent 142 grain Expedition Big Game Long Range 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, the Pantera kept putting up 3/4 Minute (or just tighter), 5-shot groups like the 0.741 and 0.744 MOA examples above. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in six of the last seven 6.5 Creedmoor rifles in for review, this ammo has been the most accurate out of the five or so different loads fired through each gun.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Hornady BLACK 140 grain BTHP was also good for 3/4-minute groups like the 0.745 MOA one above.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Federal Gold Medal Berger with its 130 grain hybrid projectiles did okay. It squeaks in as sub-MOA, which I guess is just “okay” by today’s standards? Well, maybe it’s more like exactly 1 MOA with this 0.97-minute group.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

At a bit over 1 MOA, Hornady’s 120 grain ELD Match performed the worst through the Pantera. Not that 1.171 MOA is bad. In other rifles, this ammo really shines. Could be a slight preference in the Pantera for heavier projectiles or it could be a preference for standard-shaped bullets rather than these modern secant ogive super high BC jobs. Or maybe a little of both.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

The Pantera’s trigger is user-adjustable — and easily so — from 2.2 lbs to 4.4 lbs. It’s excellent. Creep-free with a crisp, sharp break aided by a wide trigger blade with a comfortable curve. Like JWT said in his review of the Cherokee, there’s no need to upgrade this trigger. It’s right at home whether shooting groups from a rest, reaching out to a mile (which you absolutely can do with this S100 Pantera), or hunting.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

After a couple hundred rounds sent downrange from 100 to 450 yards, I was very happy with the Sauer 100 Pantera. No complaints at all after that little ol’ loose bolt handle incident.

The S100 Pantera is smooth, accurate, confident, and good looking. Like me! Ha. But really, what more could you want?

comments

Not directly… (I said the gun looks cooler than 80’s glam metal hair.) BUT: “Having started as a glam metal band, Pantera released four albums during the 1980s.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantera …I think they’re usually referred to as glam metal during that period, eh?

New England Arms .410 Pardner, I sawed the barrel off to 19 inches, duct taped a 4 cell Maglite to the barrel and screwed a cartridge holder from a Federal .243 ammo box on the buttstock to hold my extra shells. She’s a beaut . I’d send a pic but no camera does this gun justice.

With the adoption of the 6.5Creedmoor by SOCOM, the cartridge is now mainstream establishment.
The .260 is the older, rarer cartridge. That means .260 shooters just hipstered themselves. I hear Foster sends you a set of skinny jeans with ever .260 die set now. Oh, I just realized that man-bun is to keep your hair out of the press!

I’m pretty sure when they had this rifle on the drawing board someone just HAD to put Creedmoor and Pantera in the name for extra XP when shot or something. I would’ve included some kind of media jack on the gun so you could play some sick riff as you blast away.

If you’re going to go all googley eyes on the Sauer 100 then give the 404 series a look over, esp. the Stutzen select (http://www.jpsauer-usa.com/50427-2/) THAT is a sexy gun. At some point I’m going to have to get one of those or a CZ 550 FS in 6.5 Swede (not sure they still make them though).

Question! Is the bolt handle metal or plastic? Kinda looks plastic which is pretty low rent on what is still a pretty expensive gun. I am considering the ceratech variant for hunting but can’t find one to checkout at any lgs.